The Gentleman He Pretends To Be
by TheCivilState
Summary: A drunken Caroline.  Maroon 5 songs sung horribly off-key.  Even hybrids have morals.


_If I didn't know better I'd hang my hat right there_

"Caroline, what a surprise." She stepped into Klaus' house- _mansion, _she corrected- and rolled her eyes at him.

"Seriously," she said, "You invited me."

"And you accepted." They stared each other down, each issuing a silent challenge. Finally, she removed her scarf and tossed it over the banister. Like the gentleman he pretended to be, her took her coat and offered her a drink.

She accepted. She was doomed. They both knew it.

_If I didn't know better I'd follow you up the stairs_

"You never did get a proper tour of the place," he said, sometime later in the evening when her toes were beginning to tingle from the alcohol she had consumed. Good alcohol. Top notch alcohol. Quality stuff that came at a price that would buy her those Prada shoes she was busy lusting after instead of studying for pre-calculus. High school was such a buzz kill.

"I'm comfortable right here," she said, stretching her legs out along the length of the leather sofa and grinning at him. He grinned as well, but it was more like a wolf smiling at its prey than anything.

"I could always carry you." She was up and dragging him to a far corner of the house before he could even step towards her. Caroline Forbes, in her desperation to avoid an awkward moment, ended up giving him a tour of his own home. He found it amusing to say the least.

_Stop saying those sweet things you know I like to hear_

"You truly are a radiant creature." Caroline fixed him with a look that said, _Really? That's what you're going with?_

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she said, knocking back the remainder of her drink before holding out the empty glass for a refill. He bowed to her request without her evening having to ask. She briefly wondered if she could convince him to buy her those Prada shoes.

"I can continue to try," he said, pouring himself another drink, "And is it really flattery if it's the truth?" She rolled her eyes and continued drinking. Anything to take her mind off of what he was saying.

_Why do I keep drinking, wasting my time on you_

"Ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall," she absentmindedly sang, foot dangling off the edge of the couch and swishing slightly back and forth. Klaus watched her, amused at the drunken Caroline who was become excessively mellow the more he gave her to drink.

"I knew someone who would sing that song when she was drunk," he said and Caroline tilted her head so she could look at him.

"It was derived from the British song, 'Ten Green Bottles.' Violet thought it would be better if there was drinking involved- lots of drinking- and that's what she came up with."

"Violet?" Caroline said in disbelief, remembering the girl she had met a few days ago. The impish vampire had annoyed her at first, especially with how she blatantly came out and said that Klaus had been her lover once. Caroline didn't know why that bothered her, but it had.

"Yes," Klaus said, "She liked you."

"Where is she now?" Caroline let out a little hiccup and watched Klaus' face darken.

"She died."

Now she knew why he had called her over.

_You have a lover that's waiting, but baby you're right here with me_

"I should probably-" Caroline didn't finish her sentence as she tilted dangerously on her heels and went careening forward. Klaus caught her before she could crash into the glass coffee table and held her until she was able to steady herself. Or at least steady herself as much as she good.

"What should you do?" he asked and Caroline found it hard to focus when his lips were so close and his eyes were so bright and the way his thumb was rubbing circles into her hip was just too distracting.

"Tyler," she blurted out, not really knowing what he had to do with the present situation, but somehow certain he was an important player in whatever game Klaus was playing.

"Oh, right," Klaus said, releasing her and stepping away, "You have a werewolf lover waiting for you."

"Nope," she said, popping her 'p' as she stepped around him and navigated her way to the door, "But he'll be back."

_You might as well be the devil_

"Caroline, give me your keys."

"I'm perfect smart enough to-" She finished her sentence by waving her arm around as if that perfectly communicated what she was trying to say. It did, only because Klaus knew she was intending to do as she stumbled to her car with keys in hand.

"You are not capable of speaking, let alone driving," he said, wrenching her keys from her hand. Before a full on Caroline pout could set in, he'd picked her up and placed her in the passenger see, going as far to buckle her in and tell her to stay put.

"You're bossy," she muttered as he slid the key into the ignition and started the car.

"Just keeping you out of trouble, that's all love." She pouted the entire ride home, arms crossed over her chest. Klaus thought she was adorable.

_Why don't you keep drinking, get me one night with you_

"There is alcohol in this house," Caroline proclaimed as she stepped through the doorway, "I should know, because I snuck it in." She giggled at her great secret, flicking on a lamp in the hallway that teetered at her rough handling before falling over. Klaus caught it before it could shatter and righted it. Down the hall, Caroline was staring to sing.

"I've got them moves like Jagger, I've got them moves like Jagger, I don't know what else I've got like Jagger."

"I'm certain that's not how the song goes," Klaus said, following behind and picking up her discarded shoes and coat. She stumbled into her doorway and grinned at him.

"It's the remix," she said, pushing her door open and stumbling face first onto her bed. She rolled over and laughed loudly, singing terribly off-key.

"I'm never gonna leave this bed!" Klaus shook his head and settled her shoes off to the side of the room, hanging her jacket on the back of her chair. There was a rustle of bedsheets and he watched as Caroline struggled out of her sweater, not realizing she would have to sit up to get it off.

"Here," he said, coming to stand before her and pulling her up into a sitting position, "Let me help you." Caroline watched, her eyes darkening as he slowly removed her cashmere sweater and folded it neatly on her vanity desk. He turned back and found her extending one of her slender legs in his direction.

"I can't sleep with jeans on," she said. He bit the inside of his mouth as she lowered herself back onto her mattress, bra clad torso wriggling seductively. His fingers brushed her skin as he undid the button of her jeans and slowly pulled them off legs that wrapped around his waist the moment they were free. Caroline pulled him backwards onto her bed and he allowed it, bracing himself on his forearms as she ran her hands down his chest. Her fingers toyed with his belt and he couldn't resist dropping his mouth to her neck and kissing her pulse point.

"What happened to Tyler?" he whispered and a delightful shiver ran down her spine. Her legs tightened around him and she ground her hips into his. It was so tempting to take her now when she was inebriated and so obviously wanted him. He kissed her cheek before gingerly unwinding her legs from his hips. She pouted and tried to pull him back, but he gently pushed her back onto her bed and covered her with a blanket.

"Goodnight, Caroline."

She was asleep before he made it out the front door.

_If I didn't know better_ _Well damnit, I do_

**a/n: **You've got to admit, Klaus can have his winning moments. If I owned him, he would have more.

Fave, flame, faint.

_[song fic inspired by "If I Didn't Know Better" by The Civil Wars]_

_oxox._


End file.
